Hoggard's Wil Baumann practices taking snaps from a Jugs machine during a recent N.C. State practice

RALEIGH – N.C. State was in desperate need of a punter and Wil Baumann is as good as they come. But that’s not only the reason the Wilmington native decided to sign with the Wolfpack.

“They’ve got a great computer engineering program, and that’s the major I wanted to go for,” he said.

It didn’t hurt that the starting job was there for the taking the moment he walked onto campus.

By winning the position from Day 1, Baumann continues a tradition of Hoggard High kickers that started with brothers Connor and Casey Barth – even though he bucked that tradition slightly by choosing State over rival North Carolina.

Rivalries aside, Baumann could have gone anywhere he wanted after a high school career in which he averaged over 40 yards per punt and was rated as the third-best player at his position nationally by Scout.com.

It just so happened that the best fit, both academically and athletically, happened to be with coach Tom O’Brien in Raleigh.

Baumann is part of a total revamping of the Wolfpack’s kicking game.

Not only is he expected to step right in and contribute as a punter, an area that was a constant source of frustration for State and its fans last season, but place kicker Niklas Sade and long snapper Scott Thompson will also be thrown right into the fire on Sept. 3 when their team plays its season opener against Liberty.

That’s a lot of pressure to throw on a trio of untested youngsters charged with such important tasks.

But that, said O’Brien, is exactly what he and his staff recruited them to do.

“All three of these kids came to our camp, they were all three guys that, in our opinions, were the first guys we wanted to recruit and sign – not only because of their physical abilities, but also their mental makeup,” O’Brien said last week at State’s media day press conference.

“They have the right approach. It’s important that we help them get off to a great start. I haven’t seen anything to speak to me that we didn’t make right choices in who these three kids are.”

Baumann, in particular, is being counted upon heavily as a major upgrade from last year’s tandem of Jeff Ruiz and Andy Leffler.

Though the two combined to average a net 34.3 yards per punt, which ranked in the middle of the ACC pack, both were wildly inconsistent and had a knack for saving their worst kicks at the worst possible times.

That was never more evident than when Leffler hit one that traveled all of four yards when O’Brien was trying to play a field-position game late in a 14-13 loss at Clemson.

Baumann

So far, Baumann has been impressive as a replacement to this point in preseason camp.

Then again, it’s only been practice.

As an honor student with an eye on computer engineering, he’s smart enough to understand that things will move a lot faster once he lines up against a hostile opponent in a stadium full of 60,000 screaming fans.

“That’s the No. 1 thing I think about. That’s why I take scrimmages so seriously,” said Bauman, a lifelong Wolfpack fan who shouldn’t see too many snaps go over his head at 6-foot-4. “You’ve got a whole environment out there. You’re in Carter-Finley. You just have to prepare yourself. Every rep counts. You can’t take any time off.”

One thing Baumann can count on is plenty of help in making the adjustment from high school ball to college.

Although most of his previous mentors, including the Barths, and punting guru Bill Renner – father of Tar Heel quarterback Bryn Renner – are affiliated with rival UNC, Baumann has already found an advocate at State in tight end George Bryan, a senior captain and fellow Wilmington native.

“I’m trying to take him under my wing,” Bryan said, who graduated from Hoggard rival New Hanover. “He’s a good guy and I’m glad he’s from my hometown. From what I’ve seen, he’s going to do a great job for us.”